Melancholic Quest: Another Fate

You need to act. You need to get out of here. That other woman is somewhere out there still and who knows who else might be? Maybe you should run into her...they need to know that they can't just hurt people like that...it's wrong what they do is wrong they can't hurt anyone else not any more not again never ne-

...

Ms Buttons is laying on the ground, just a few feet away. Her gray color...it makes the drying drops of blood on her pop out even more. You pick yourself up, stumbling as you do and hold her in your hand.

It is silly...someone like you still relying on something like a doll...how childish...

...

You have never held her so tightly before.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." You whisper the same words over and over. A cough from the women breaks you away...she's not getting up though. You give Ms Buttons a kiss before placing her ever so carefully back in place before gathering your items. You place your knife back in your pocket and put your coat back on.

Your head has that lovely buzz again but...it's almost TOO good...

Swaying a bit, you decide to check to see if the woman has anything worth taking...nothing but some keys...damn.

That bottle might be useful late though...you wipe it off on the bed and place it with your stuff. You're ready to look around but as you take a step there's a moment of blackness...but you shake it off and your vision returns, thank goodness. It's almost too bright, like a camera flash going off. Better than passing out, though. Getting caught here is the last thing you'd want.

You grab your bag and open the door, peering over the edge. It seems clear...and so you dart out, hoping against hope that your feet are light enough to not give you away. Taking careful steps, you quickly try one door, and then another...drat, they're all locked- wait, no. You came from the end of the hall. Have to move.

It's so close, so close, just need to get out of here and find somewhere to hide, somewhere quiet and safer than this...

No, no...That man is talking with the other woman! Do they know each other? Is he asking for you?

Can't let him get you. They don't see you- she's got him away from the door, neither of them are looking in your direction. Maybe she doesn't want him to see inside? No matter. Your steps are light, but your heart still pounds.

Suddenly the lady starts raising her voice, almost yelling. Ugh, she sounds like a banshee. Still, this might be an opportunity for you.

Carefully, carefully, you peek your head out, waiting, watching- and when she throws her hands up in consternation, causing him to flinch, you break into a full run in the opposite direction, further down the street. You're fast at least, and a small shout as you turn the corner of the street heralds their surprise.
------

Cont.

>>483486
They both chase after you, but you had too much of a lead on them. Then a sudden rumble, and the rain starts.

You hear one of them trip and fall, and it seems they brought the other down with them, judging from the voices. You don't care. You keep running.

The next minute or two is a panicked blur, of raindrops and objects that pass by you too quickly to make out. Just running, running, get away from them, from your mother, from all the bad people, from everything...

It's a while before you slow into a jog. Fortunately you're not too tired...but you'd still like a-

Wait, a house. A small house, dilapidated. Looks abandoned. Roof is intact, though, so it'll do.

It's cold, dusty, and there's nothing but the sound of rain and thunder, with the occasional car passing by.

At the very least... it's refuge from the elements. You're out of the rain, you're not hungry, and you still have Ms. Buttons.

That'll have to do for now.

What do you want to do now?

>>483490
Wait until the rain passes

>>483490
Search the house

Man, I posted this start really early. I had a reason why, and I forgot.

Anyway, glad there's SOME interest. Hope you read the base version, too!

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>>483716
I'll stick with the "base" version. If you want to run a quest, at least try to think for yourself and come up with something original instead of milking off something else.

>>483701
>>483526

There's not much to do here. Not that you'd even really want to. It seems like there's mildew and mold everywhere, broken glass, and other things that you'd rather not touch.

The house seems relatively simple- a living room, a kitchen attached to it, and a hallway with several doors leading to certain rooms. There's an old mattress in the one furthest back that doesn't seem too busted up, and...there's also a ratty old thing that COULD be a blanket. Doesn't look very comfortable, but it's something.

The room across from it seems to have been another bedroom- something larger, at least. There's no mattress, though, just a bed frame, and some dressers. You quickly rifle through them, but they're all empty except for one, which has an old hairbrush in it.

One of the closer doors leads to the bathroom. Just like the other bedroom, there's nothing in there of note. It's surprisingly not as disgusting as you might've figured, although obviously there's no running water for the sink. There's nothing in the medicine cabinets, either.

There's a room that looks like a small study in the second closer door, complete with desk. A forgotten, dirty paper cup, and some silverware- a fork and a butter knife sitting in the sink are all that you find. Interestingly, however, you do find what appears to be a Walkman in one of the drawers!

You're honestly kind of astonished- these things were all the rage lately. Cost a lot, and meant a lot. How one would find its way here was a strange mystery. It doesn't look in too bad shape, even- although when you try to turn it on, there's no sound. You flip the thing around and... of course there's no battery. Damn. Still, it might be interesting to hold on to.

That's largely the house- the living room is pretty barebones, with only a ratty couch to mention- everything else has been stripped out. You sigh and take a seat. That didn't take very long, and you're still not that sleepy.
-------

Cont.

>>483805
The rain's steadily pouring down, and despite how rough it is, it's consistency is somewhat soothing. It's a strange feeling in your gut and your eyes, how everything seems to be sharp around the edges and yet dull everywhere else.

But what...what's happening...why did all this have to happen?!

Why did Mom betray you like that...

Why did you have to run away...

Why did you kill such a nice lady...maybe she could've lived if you weren't so panicked.

And now you've probably killed someone else. They deserved it, though, right? Not like Michele. Michele was nice, but this lady...

...she sounded like she was just going to be like your mother. Or those other men...

The entirety of the situation comes down on you as you sit and take it all in. Everything...everything's just so WRONG. Why?

You gently take out Ms. Buttons.

“...I...I'm really glad I have you, Ms. Buttons.” You hug her close.

“Y-you're the only one who still l-likes me.”

Sleep does not come easily that night.

When you awaken, your mouth is fuzzy, you feel sluggish, and you feel like you ran a couple of miles. You're not sure how long a mile is on foot- for all you know, you may have. Regardless, the sun's out, despite the cold winter weather. You should at least try to find some method of getting food- you don't feel too hungry, but you knew that'd fade sooner than later. Why doing...what you did last night made you feel full was a question you couldn't answer.

Part of you is scared to find an answer. But regardless of that...

How are you going to find food? You do have a bit of money, maybe you just could buy something if you don't think you'd need it for something else...

>>483823
start eating people

>>483823
Maybe there is a homeless shelter or a communal food supply somewhere? If there isn't we should buy some food.

>>483823
>>484128

If nothing else, you can maybe try to find a homeless shelter...you'd heard that they do that sort of thing. You're not entirely sure where one is, though...never had to bother finding out, at least until now.

You eventually decide that it's worth looking into, if nothing else, and so you gingerly head out, making sure no one else is really paying attention to you. Fortunately, it seems like there are few people on the streets at the moment- and the few that are seem to be focused on going somewhere in particular. It's quiet enough that you're able to make your way out and away from the house without any real issue, thank goodness. It's still rather cold, however, and you can see some ice starting to form off some houses. You'll have to be quick.

Unfortunately, you're...not quite sure where you are, just that it's somewhere downtown. You really need a map of some sort.

It's at least an hour or two, but you eventually come the conclusion that wherever you are, it might not have anything like a shelter- at least not anywhere you know where to go. You've been looking around for at least an hour, and you're starting to really feel the bite of the cold. It might be best to just buy some food after all...besides, you've already taken advantage of a soup kitchen- you're not sure if you should keep on relying on others for food...even if it's really all you can do right now.

...but then, what's that smell? There's definitely someone cooking nearby- oh.

Across the street, you can see a food vendor- he seems to be selling hot dogs, and other small foods on the corner. The man working it seems to be a bushy haired fellow, pale in this weather, but still working headily.

If the line is anything, he's running a brisk enough business. Hopefully his food is good...

By the time you manage to get up to him, he's been cooking up a storm, less concerned about the weather and more concerned about getting his products out. As he looks down at your relatively disheveled appearance, he cocks an eyebrow. "Hungry, I'm guessin'?"

You nod.

His eyes hold on your for a while, unnervingly. Eventually, he nods to himself. "Right, then, buck-fifty'll getcha a dog."

That's worthwhile, you figure, and you pay the man. He hands you two, wrapped in foil, but before you can say anything he just winks at you, putting his finger to his lips in a 'shush' motion.

You can't help but smile a bit. It's a small kindness, but some is better than none...as you walk off, you enjoy one of them. It's delicious, really, even though you're not sure how good it'll be for you.

That's nice, but you still need to find somewhere to actually buy more actual food...all these places around here seem to be more bars and restaurants, though...

As you round a corner, though, something- someone- slams into you!

Holding your head, you try and reorient yourself from the sudden impact...

>>485324
...Turning your head in the direction of the colliding person, you can see that she's a scraggly looking thing, taller than you, and a couple years older, by the looks of it, wearing jeans and a tanktop. She's barefoot otherwise.

You're not sure what happened, but she's face down now, still picking herself up.

Looking to her side, you can see what seems to be something wrapped up in paper towels, hot and steaming. You're not sure what it is, but it looks like it might be more food...

“Ugh, damnit! What the hell are you...” the girl turns towards you, clearly pissed off. You start to open your mouth, but before you can get a word in, she looks to the side, and her eyes widen as she starts to freak out.

“My burgers! Oh, you better hope they ain't got dirt on 'em, squirt- that's my breakfast AND my lunch!”

Oh, no...she seems really livid. "I'm sorry..." you whisper out.

"Shut up, I need to get off the road!" She's quickly looking around, then goes back to her food trying to sort of dust it off. Without warning, she grabs you by the wrists, against your protests- she's surprisingly strong, and you're still confused.

Eventually, you're dragged to what seems to be a back alley- it's got a bit of space, however, but it's largely for dumpsters. She shoves you against one, although you admittedly don't really feel the impact that much- she might've been taking it easy on you.

"What the hell is up with you, huh? You never heard of lookin' in front of you? What are you gonna do now that my food's trashed, huh? This is give me, I dunno, stomach cramps or somethin'! You don't know any..." Suddenly she stops mid-sentence, looking you up and down. Her face contorts from frustrating and annoyance to something more curious. "Jesus, you almost look worse off than me, squirt. The hell got up in your face and spat in it?"

Should you even tell this weird girl anything, or remain silent? Or you could try to ask her something in return.

Bumping for the weekend crowd. See what happens.

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>>485324
"I'm sorry."
Oh, and bump.

>>492062
“I-uh, I'm sorry...” It's all you can think of to say. This girl seems like she wouldn't be too afraid to use violence on you, but the entire situation kind of came out of nowhere. Her face is hardened and scraggly, and with how it seems to be set in a permanent frown, she doesn't seem to be one to just walk away from an issue. “I-I mean, I didn't try to...”


She rolls her eyes after hearing your stuttering.“Pft, nice tryin' to get yourself off the hook, but that ain't what I asked, tiny.” She does loosen her grip a bit more, although she's still keeping a close eye on you. “I asked what was your deal. You're remindin' me of me like, a year ago. All shivery and scared and all that jazz. So, tryin' this again- what's your deal? You a runaway?”


Your silence as you try to avoid eye contact seems to be all that she needs as an answer, and she snorts.
“Yeah, I know that look.” With a rough pull, she gets you off the dumpster, although she's standing in the way of the alley's exit.
“So, kid, what's your story? Your folks ditch you? Did you just hate 'em? Or did you just get unlucky and...” She drags her thumb across her throat quickly- you got the idea without needing that, really.


It's hard to find your voice, but before you speak, she cuts you off. “Actually, y'know what? Doesn't much matter. You're here now, so you gotta deal.”


And that's when she notices the uneaten hot dog still in your hand. “And it looks like at the least you got a start on it. You beg the corner guy for some? He ain't gonna do that all the time, y'know. I've tried...” she sulks.


You decide that it's best to not tell her that you bought them for right now.


“Anyway, that brings me back to my FIRST issue.” Oh. You'd kind of hoped she'd forgotten about that, but the way she glares at you proves that notion wrong. “You still got dirt all over my burgers. I had to go through a TON to get 'em. More than what's fair, even! So we need to fix that, right?”


The grin on her face tells you that you both have very different answers to that. “Well, I know about somethin' that could get us food for like, a week, easy! Thing is, it's a two-person job. Won't even get you into trouble, I promise!"


She even holds her hand up in a solemn salute. It sorta looks fake, to you, but you don't dare say that.


"Seriously, I know how it is. I can tell you're new to it. Been where you are. It ain't dangerous, just..." she looks away for a bit. "Complicated. So yeah."


Food for a week? That sounds...well, you'd be lying if you'd say part of you wasn't interested. But another part of you realizes that this girl, whoever she is, might be dangerous to be around, even if she's acting slightly less angry towards you. Still, if she is lying...well, it can't be worse than...than that lady.


Do you go along with the girl's plan to get food? What do you say to her? Maybe you could ask her some questions, or try to escape?

>>483463
Haven't started reading this yet but do I have to have knowledge of stuff that happened in Melancholic Prime? Cause at this point I'm like 21 threads behind

>>496079
Honestly? Only like the first thread and a half. That's it.

Just as a note, even if there's not many interested, I'll run so long as there's someone curious. I've got plenty of time, so.